sandy probably had something to do with that. look, i think it is a matter of policy and outreach, with people, the right people speaking for the republican party. finally, it is a matter of town. -- tone. these policies are inclusive. a quick way to grow those for everyone is to have the policies that were laid out by mitt romney, and we just were not successful in that. >> do you think that the comments by the senatorial candidates mattered? did they carry in the polling that you saw on a national level? >> yes. again, hard to measure, but obviously the gender gap that we have on our side, which by the way persists, it is not something new this year, the final numbers are not in yet, but it will probably be comparable to 2008. it is a challenge to face as republicans. i think that those comments exacerbated the gender gap. >> which is extraordinary, when you think about it. in previous cycles a comment by a senator like that would have been echoed. >> what ever stupid things i say today can have an impact. assuming every gather